Fabrication of silver seeds and nanoparticle on core-shell Ag@SiO2 nanohybrids for combined photothermal therapy and bioimaging

Karthikeyan Manivannan; Chih-Chia Cheng; Rajeshkumar Anbazhagan; Hsieh-Chih Tsai; Jem-Kun Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2018.11.051

Fabrication of silver seeds and nanoparticle on core-shell Ag@SiO₂ nanohybrids for combined photothermal therapy and bioimaging

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2019 Mar 1:537:604-614. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.11.051. Epub 2018 Nov 14.

Authors

Karthikeyan Manivannan¹, Chih-Chia Cheng², Rajeshkumar Anbazhagan², Hsieh-Chih Tsai³, Jem-Kun Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC; Applied Research Center for Thin-Film Metallic Glass, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.
² Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC; Advanced Membrane Materials Research Center, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.
³ Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC; Applied Research Center for Thin-Film Metallic Glass, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan; Advanced Membrane Materials Research Center, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan. Electronic address: h.c.tsai@mail.ntust.edu.tw.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC; Applied Research Center for Thin-Film Metallic Glass, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan; Advanced Membrane Materials Research Center, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan. Electronic address: jkchen@mail.ntust.edu.tw.

PMID: 30472636
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.11.051

Abstract

In this study, two core-shell nanohybrids of different morphologies, namely SiO₂-coated silver (Ag) with surface-exposed silver seeds (Ag@SiO₂@Ag_seed) and SiO₂-coated Ag with surface-exposed Ag nanoparticles (Ag@SiO₂@Ag_NPs), were fabricated using the Stober method. Potential applications in bioimaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) of the two fabricated nanohybrids were also explored. Upon exposure to visible light (400 nm), Ag@SiO₂@Ag_seed with surface-exposed Ag seeds exhibited greater photothermal conversion efficiency than Ag@SiO₂@Ag_NPs. In vitro MTT assays in the dark and subsequent bioimaging using HeLa cells proved the potential biocompatibility of the fabricated core-shell nanohybrids. PTT applications of the two fabricated core-shell nanohybrids were studied by incubating HeLa cells with the nanohybrids, exposure to 400 nm laser, and subsequent staining with annexin V and propidium iodide (PI), and the two core-shell nanohybrids gave distinctively different PI staining results. Interestingly, Ag@SiO₂@Ag_seed caused higher cell death upon light exposure compared to Ag@SiO₂@Ag_NPs as the former generated more heat within the cells. These results demonstrated potential bioimaging and PPT applications of the fabricated core-shell nanohybrids and offer a novel candidate for phototherapy-based biomedical applications.

Keywords: Ag@SiO(2)@Ag(NPs); Ag@SiO(2)@Ag(seed); Bioimaging; Core-shell; Photothermal therapy.

MeSH terms

Biomedical Technology
Cell Death / drug effects
HeLa Cells
Humans
Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Optical Imaging / methods*
Particle Size
Phototherapy / methods*
Silicon Dioxide / chemistry*
Silicon Dioxide / pharmacology
Silver / chemistry*
Silver / pharmacology
Surface Properties

Substances

Silver
Silicon Dioxide